Ganja peddler helps cops crack murder case

CHENNAI: Ten months after a 21-year-old man went missing from Anakaputhur, police on Sunday arrested six of his friends for murdering him and dumping his body in a well. The crime was revealed by a ganja peddler, who, when arrested, said his brother murdered the missing man.Lokesh, a resident of Karikalan Street in Anakaputhur, was a college dropout. He used to smoke weed, and slowly joined a group of ganja peddlers. On April 5, 2019, Lokesh left his house in the morning, and never returned. His mobile number was switched off. Sensing danger, his parents lodged a police complaint. Police searched but were unable to trace him. On Sunday, Pallavaram police arrested one Sivakumar for peddling ganja on the Kancheepuram-Chennai border.

“During interrogation, Sivakumar said he had information not known to police. Subsequently, he decided to reveal information about his brother Batcha, with whom he recently had a falling out,” said the police.
Batcha is also a ganja peddler, and is suspected of having murdered Lokesh. “He says Batcha and his men killed Lokesh because the latter was luring their customers and taking them to another peddler,” Assistant Commissioner KPS Devaraj said quoting Sivakumar.

Batcha and three other suspects are already in Puzhal prison in connection with another case. A search has been launched for two others, Nitish and Praveen, involved in the case.  Police say Batcha was angry and called Lokesh for a parley. They met at an isolated place near Adyar River in Anakaputhur. As the argument escalated, Batcha and his men killed Lokesh. The police are yet to recover his body.